Piece of artillery



June 23,1925. 1,543,263

N. E. METHLIN PIECE OF ART ILLERY Filed Jan, 5. 1925 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 A i 0. K 3 Z 11- F 1 J H T 3 i I. j I G I 1 3 a A J- j J3 WW WM @3 mm $400 44 N. E. METHLIN 21mm OF- ARTILLERY Filed Jan. 5, 1925 June '23,, 19.25.

7 Sheets-Sheef 2 June 23, 1925.

N. E. METHLIN PIECE OF ARTILLERY '7 Sheets-#Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 5, 1925 June 23, 1925. 1,543,263

N. E. METHLIN PIECE OF ARTILLERY Filed Jan. 5, 1925 7 Sheets-She'et' 4 9W W awa W June 23, 1925.

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' N. E. METHLIN PIECE OF AR'IILLERY Filed Jan, 5, 1925 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Patented June 23, 1925.

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NICOLAS EMILIEN METHLIN, OF PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR TO SCHNEIDER & CIE, OF PARIS. FRANCE, A LIMITED JOINT STOCK COMPANY OF FRANCE.

PIECE OF ARTILLERY.

Application filed January 3, 1925.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NICOLAS EMILIEN METHLIN, a citizen of the Republic of France, resident of Paris, France, have 1nvented new and useful Improvements 1n or Relating to Pieces of Artillery, which is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates-to in'iprovements in pieces of artillery comprising a gun recoiling on an overhung cradle pivoted by means of a trunnion to a gun carriage mounted upon a platform.

According to the invention, the forces exerted in elevating the gun are balanced by an opposing device acting upon the elevating sector. Theopposing device 1s const1- tuted either by a metal spring or the like placed between the frame plates of the gun carriage and acting upon a member connected to the elevating sector, or by a second gun and cradle arrangement conjugated with the first cradle in such a manner that the gun of one arrangement recoils when that of the other returns to battery, and vice versa, the cradle of the conjugated arrangement being overhung from the gun carriage and pivoting upon it by means of a trunnion extending from that of the first arrangement.

Various forms of construction of the invention are illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings in which 2-- Figures 1 and 2 illustrate, a first form of construction of the invention, in sectional elevation along the overhung pivoting axis, and in side elevation, respectively.

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation; Figure 4 is a side elevation of another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a sectional elevation; Figure 6 is a side elevation of another embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional elevation illustrating a still further embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, A is a gun carriage which pivots on a central pivot a upon a platform B. The pedestal of the gun carriage is in the known manner, placed eccentrically relatively to the pivot a. Upon the upper part of the pedestal of the gun carriage an axle or shaft A turns, which carries, projecting from one of the side plates A abracket a for carrying the Serial No. 430.

cradle D in which the gun C recoils in the known manner.

In conformity to the invention, a balancing device for the oscillating mass CD is placed between the side plates A of the pedestal of the gun carriage A, so as to exert an opposing balancing force upon the elevating sector E keyed to the axle A In this first example, the balancer proper is constituted by a spring F one end of which f presses upon a piston G the rod 9 of which is pivoted at g to a fixed point a on the gun carriage. The other end of the spring F presses against the bottom h of a cylinder H which can move between the side members A of the gun carriage, and is pivoted, by means of trunnion H to the elevating sector E.

The sector E is displaced by means of any known type of gear, for example, as shown in the drawing, by means of a worm I the shaft of which turns in one of the side mem bers of the gun carriage A and which engages with a worm wheel I keyed to an axle I for which the side member A forms a bearing, the said axle I being provided with a pinion I in mesh with the sector E. \Vhen the members are in the position indicated in dot and dash lines in Figure 2, the centre of gravity of the oscillating mass is at O. The pivoting position a is fixed so that, during the elevating operation, by means of the hand wheel 2', the force of the spring F transmitted to the pivot IP will provide at every moment a component F, the moment of which about the axis A varies proportionally to the moment ofthe weight of the oscillating mass about the said axis.

In Figure 1 is shown, by way of example, a mechanism for training the gun by rotating the platform of the gun carriage. This mechanism comprises a pinion J which moves upon a toothed crown wheel B attached to the platform 13, and the shaft j of which carries a worm wheel J rotated by a worm J the axle of which is itself rotated by a bevel pinion J engaging with a pinion J which is rotated by means of the hand wheel J In the example shown, in sectional elevation and in side elevation respectively in Figures 3 and 4, the lower end of the balancing spring F presses directly against the gun carriage A, and the upper end 7 presses upon a hollow piston G, which slides in a fixed cylinder I-I, formed between the side members of the gun carriage A The piston G is pivoted at to one of the ends K of a connecting rod the other end K of which is pivoted to the pivoting shaft A bent in the form of a crank. The elevating sector E, as in the preceding example, is keyed to the shaft A and is driven by the gearing z'II I The balanced gun may be combined with a device for giving the cradle a transverse inclination, in order to compensate for a corresponding inclination of the platform 13 of the gun carriage. In this case, the projection of the pivoting shaft A is constituted by a bearing or fork A between the sides of which the cradle D can oscillate on trun nions (Z; on one of these is mounted loosely a sector with helicoidal teeth A, attached to the fork A and along which is travelled the worm D turning in the cradle D. By means of the hand wheel (Z the inclination, of the arrangement CD to the gun carriage may be varied in a transverse direc tion, and the axis of the gun brought into a vertical. plane when the platform A is inclined.

Figures 5 and 6 show a sectional elevation and a side elevation respectively of a modified form of construction in which the bal ancing arrangement is made use of in order to reduce both the effort required to operate the elevating mechanism and the effort required for raising the height of the line of fire when changing over from firing horizontally or at small angles of elevation to firing at large angles of elevation.

in this case, the balancer is, for example, arranged as in Figures 3 and 4c. The cradle D is pivoted in or upon the end of an arm A projecting from one of the ends of the pivoting shaft A The cradle, in the example shown, is pivoted to the said arm by means of a trunnion D upon which is keyed a pinion (Z which engages with a reversing pinion A the axis a of which is carried by the arm A The pinion A itself engages with a pinion A attached to the gun carriage A, and the pinions A and A have half the number of teeth of (Z It is seen that when the gun is in position for firing horizontally the height of the line of fire is thus lowered with reference to the axis A by the distance between this axis and the axis of the trunnion D as is shown in dot and dash lines in Figure 6.

The elevation of the gun, as well as the raising of the trunnion D from the position it occupies in dot and dash lines in Figure (3 to the highest position shown in full lines in Figures 5 and 6, are assisted by the single and same balancer arranged as shown in examples 8 and 4:, or if desired, as in examples 1 and 2.

Figure 7 shows, in longitudinal sectional elevation, a form of construction of the invention in which the balancing of the gun and cradle arrangement CD, turning on overhung trunnions to the left of the axis of the gun carriage head, is obtained by means of a second gun and cradle arrangement CD carried on trunnions and overhung to the right of the same axis.

The pivoting axle A as shown in the Figure, may be hollow, the axial bore forming a communication duct between the cylinders L of the recoil brakes of the two guns. The two guns are mounted and conjugated in such a manner that one of them is brought into battery position through the recoil of the other, and vice versa, in conformity to the known principle, described and illustrated in the U. S. Patent No. 1487695 dated March 18, 1924:. The shaft A forming the communication duct between the brake cylinders L, each attached to its corresponding cradle D, carries, at its centre, and keyed to it, the elevating sector E which-is driven by a pinion 1 itself actuated by the known mechanism described in the preceding examples.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1 claim is 1. A piece of artillery comprising a carriage having a pair of side plates, a pivoting shaft journalled in said plates, an overhung gun cradle secured to the pivoting shaft, a guncarried by said cradle, an elevating sector secured to said shaft, elevating mecha-- nism mounted on the cariage and operatively engaging said sector, and means secured to said pivoting shaft for balancing the force of gravity opposing the elevation of the gun.

2. A piece of artillery comprising a 1'0- tatable carriage provided with a pair of side plates, a horizontally disposed axle journalled in said plates, a gun cradle operatively secured to one end of said axle, a gun carried by said cradle, an elevating sector keyed to said shaft, means engaging said sector for rotating said shaft, and means secured to said shaft for counteracting the force of gravity opposing the rotation of said shaft when the latter is actuated to elevate said gun.

3. A piece of artillery comprising a 1'0- tatable carriage having a pair of upright side plates, a pivoting shaft journalled in the upper end of said plates, a gun secured to said shaft at one side of said carriage, elevating mechanism operative-1y secured to said shaft, and means secured to the shaft for balancing the forces opposing the elevating of the gun, said gun being adapted for movement in a. vertical plane from a horizontal position through an upright position.

4. A piece of artillery comprising a carriage, a shaft journalled therein, conjugated guns secured to the opposite ends of said shaft, and elevating mechanism operatively engaging said shaft.

5. A piece of artillery comprising a carriage, a shaft journalled therein, a gun operatively secured to one end of said shaft, balancing means including a gun operatively secured to the opposite end of said shaft, and elevating mechanism operatively engaging said shaft for simultaneously elevating said guns.

6. A piece of artillery comprising a carriage, a shaft journalled in said carriage, an elevating sector secured to said shaft, means engaging said sector for rotating said shaft, a gun cradle carried at each end of the shaft, and a gun operatively mounted on each of said cradles.

7. A device of the class described comprising a carriage, a hollow shaft journalled in said carriage, means including a brake cylinder secured to each end of said shaft, a gun operatively mounted on eachof said means, the bore in said shaft constituting a communicating duct between said brake cylinders, and elevating mechanism for r0- tating said shaft.

8. A device of the class described comprising a carriage, a shaft journallcd in said carriage, and provided with a longitudinal duct extending therethrough, a pair of guns, means operatively securing said guns to the opposite ends of said shaft and having communication through said duct for employing the energy of recoil of one of said guns for running out the other of said guns, an elevating sector secured to said shaft, and means engaging said sector for rotating said shaft.

9. A device of the class described comprising a carriage provided with a pair of 1 side plates, an axially bored shaft journalled in said plates, elevating mechanism including an elevating sector secured to said shaft intermediate said plates, a gun, a cradle ineluding a recoil brake having operative engagement with said gun, said shaft constituting a trunnion for said cradle and the bore of said shaft being in communication with the cylinder of said brake, and means secured to the opposite end of said shaft for balancing said gun, said means including a cradle, a brake cylinder having communication with the bore of said shaft and a gun operatively associated With said cradle and brake cylinder.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

NICOLAS EMILIEN METHLIN. 

